More than two decades have passed since Buffy the Vampire Slayer first premiered on TV, and fans are still obsessed with hearing behind-the-scenes stories. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played Buffy, has opened up about how her similarities to her character made one particular episode difficult to film.
Sarah Michelle Gellar struggled to film the ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ episode where Buffy’s mom dies
During a recent interview with Buzzfeed, where she promoted her new TV series Wolf Pack on Paramount+, Gellar opened up about her experience filming her on-screen mother’s death scene. In the episode, Buffy comes home to find her mom Joyce, played by Kristine Sutherland, unresponsive on the couch.
According to the actor, the episode titled “The Body” hit a bit too close to home. In fact, Gellar didn’t even want to press play when Buzzfeed presented her with a clip from the episode.
“I haven’t seen this scene in a long time. This is really hard, both personally and professionally… Oh god, it’s really hard to watch. My mom and I are super close, and [she] was really a single parent just like Joyce was. It also meant that Kristine Sutherland was leaving, which was really hard for me.”
It may have been Gellar’s close relationship with her real mom that helped make her performance in this scene so strong. The episode marked an important transition for her character as Buffy became her sister’s sole caretaker. It aired in 2001 toward the end of season five.
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Sarah Michelle Gellar gave credit to the crew for how well the scene turned out
During her Buzzfeed interview, Gellar explained how shooting this scene was challenging for several reasons. Aside from the emotional aspect, they also filmed it all in a single shot which required extra work from the cast and crew. Gellar described her experience a bit, explaining how they rehearsed this unforgettable TV moment like a play.
“The hardest part about this was this entire scene was shot as a Steadicam oner, like a play,” Gellar explained. “It’s about a four-and-a-half minute take… and everybody had to get it right… That scene, I really give credit to the whole crew because that was a team effort.”
Back in 2012, Buffy of the Vampire creator Joss Whedon also gave fans some insight into filming this scene on Reddit. He praised Gellar for her performance, writing:
“It’s an extraordinary piece of acting from Sarah … to go from the extremity of first finding her, the helplessness of not knowing what to do. All the things that Sarah had to go through in this, she had to go through many, many times. And every take was extraordinary.”
Critics commended the episode after it aired, and its reputation for being hauntingly memorable remains true to this day.
